Oooooh you know what next week is? Next week is when I officially start training for the Flying Pig! Eek! That means the days of oversleeping and skipping runs are over. The Smart Coach plan is aggressive as far as the long runs go, it starts next week with a 10 miler and then builds 12/14/6/16/18/20/7/16/20/16/7/20/12/8/race! I already decided that I am going to take one of those 20s and stretch it to 23. I know a lot of people don’t agree with that, but I don’t care. All I know is that last time I was not prepared enough, after mile 20 my legs completely locked up and that last hour was pure pain where I slowed down over 3 mins a mile! I was on par to finish under 4:30 and ended up coming in at 4:45. I learned a few important lessons.
#1- my eating the weeks before the race was not good and that led to lots of stomach problems on race day and I will not be so nonchalant about what I put into my body over the next 16 weeks and that is a promise. It’s not about losing weight starting next week anymore, it’s about eating enough to run these long runs and eating the right kinds of food that are not going to give me stomach issues. I actually ate butternut squash risotto from Brio the day before my marathon as my carbo loading. Swimming in butter and prosciutto, sooo stupid.
#2 – Don’t do ALLLL of your long runs on the towpath. Last marathon, every run over 8 miles took place on a dirt path. While that is good for you body, I do not feel that my knees were prepared to be on asphalt for so long and that is what led to my downfall.
#3- Don’t just run! All I did last marathon plan was run and I got mushy. Gone were the crunches, and dumbbells. And gone was my “tight” body that I have yet to get back!!!!
#4 – Long runs are not excuses to eat a lot of dessert, this goes with number 3.

So, armed with my knowledge of what worked and didn’t work for the Cleveland marathon, I hope that the Pig will be a much better experience for me. I am super excited to run it. I think it will be very interesting for me since I lived in Cinti for 6 years and haven’t really been back there since, except for a few N.KY visits with friends. So, to run through my old stomping grounds will be nice. We actually run past my old apt and the bar I worked at for 5 years. And I will get to stay with my awesome friend Mindy who I don’t see enough of. So, I am excited about that.

The workout plan through Feb is:
Monday – Excel in Cycling
Tues- Easy run (anywhere from 2-8 miles), weights
Wed – Swim
Thurs – Tempo Run/Speework depending on the schedule, anywhere from 5-8 miles, weights
Fri – Rest
Sat – Long run
Sun- Swim, yoga

I also plan on one night during the week hopping on the trainer and doing like a 5 min warmup and then 20 mins of one legged drills and then 5 min cooldown, whenever it fits in. I really want to make sure I get those 2 weight workouts in. Once it gets warm, I have to start doing some brick workouts on the weekend b/c my first ever tri is on May 18th!!! 2 weeks after the marathon. So, when the weather is warm, Sunday will be a brick workout, nothing super long, since it’s just a sprint tri and I as soon as I can swim in open water I will. I plan on taking the tri club up on their Munroe Falls open water swims. Oh I love having a plan!